Washington Wizards guard John Wall leaves Reebok for Adidas

View full sizeWashington Wizards point guard John Wall talks with the news media following a team practice at the Verizon Center in Washington in December. Wall has entered an endorsement deal with Adidas.The Associated Press

Adidas-owned Reebok appears to recalibrating its basketball shoe business. Part of that conclusion for Canton, Mass.-based Reebok is linked to news coming out of Portland-based Adidas America.

That development coincided with an announcement from Portland-based Adidas America that Washington Wizards guard John Wall had entered "a long-term partnership" with the brand.

Slam Online followed the Nice Kicks posting with a story quoting a Reebok official emphasizing that the brand was still in the basketball shoe business, but left gauzy to what extent.

The sports footwear analyst Matt Powell joined the chorus Wednesday with this tweet: "Reebok BB market share 1.6%. Last year same time 2.8%. What would you do?"

From the Adidas America news release on Wednesday about Wall:

"I've enjoyed my time with Reebok and I'm grateful for everything we accomplished the last few years," said Wall. "Now, I'm excited to return to the court soon and begin my new partnership with adidas. They've changed the game with new technology and style and I can't wait to be a part of it."

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Wall has career averages of 16.3 points, 8.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals. In his rookie campaign, Wall became the third youngest player ever to record a triple-double and earned 2011 Rookie Game MVP honors at the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge. At the University of Kentucky, Wall's dynamic play as a freshman earned him SEC Player of the Year honors and helped lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.

"John Wall is a great talent and his quickness, superior athleticism and personality make him one of the most exciting young players in the game," said Lawrence Norman, adidas vice president of global basketball. "We're excited to partner with John to continue to develop new innovative products and grow our brand and business."

Wall is the latest addition to the adidas basketball roster which includes 2010 NBA MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers and two-time NBA MVP and four-time NBA Champion Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs. He joins several recent adidas partners to earn NBA All-Rookie team honors including Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets, Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks, Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons and MarShon Brooks of the New Jersey Nets.